Pizza Fritta is a street food classic in the streets of Naples. Pizza Fritta is a deep-fried pizza and the name already says it all: the dough is not baked in the oven, but deep-fried in oil. And it tastes at least as good as the baked version! It comes in different shapes and sizes: as a larger and smaller version (pizzelle fritte) or as a calzone. In this post we will show you how to prepare this fried delicacy at home!

Interesting fact: it is said that the idea of Pizza Fritta was born out of necessity during the Second World War in Italy, when many people at the time did not have a pizza oven because they were destroyed or could not afford one. Therefore, the only thing left for people to do was to fry the dough in oil. Pizza Fritta is therefore also called the pizza of the people.

Ingredients

(for approx. 4 fried pizzas à 200 gr)

• 500 gr flour
• 300 gr water
• 1 gr fresh yeast or 0,3 gr dry yeast
• 12 gr salt

For the frying and topping:

• Approx. 140 gr tomato sauce
• Approx. 80 gr grated cheese (e.g. Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Pecorino)
• 125 gr buffalo mozzarella
• 1 liter of neutral oil (e.g. vegetable oil like sunflower oil or rapeseed oil)

For the dough, you can also one of the Neapolitan-style pizza dough recipes from the blog here, as leftover dough is also great for pizza Fritta.

Preparing the dough

• Pour water into the bowl and dissolve the yeast in it with one hand.
• Now add the flour gradually and mix with the yeast water. It is best to leave some flour (about 10%) so that it can be used later on the work surface.
• When the dough has reached a reasonably firm consistency, add the salt and mix it with the dough.
• Then transfer the dough from the bowl to the work surface and continue kneading. If the dough is too sticky, add the remaining flour.
• The total kneading time is 15 – 20 minutes.
• Then shape the dough into as round a ball as possible. The dough will probably still have a somewhat rough, slightly sticky surface. From the consistency, the dough should spring back slightly when pressed in with a finger.
• To get a smoother surface, cover the dough with the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, shape the dough back into a round ball with as smooth a surface as possible and then place it in a sealable container.

Resting the dough

• Let the dough rest for 2 hours at room temperature.
• Then divide the dough into four portions (dough balls). One dough ball should weigh about 200 gr.
• Put the dough balls in a sealable container and let them rise for 16-24 hours at room temperature.

Preparing and frying the dough

• Flour the work surface, place the dough on it and also cover it with a little flour.
• Now press the dough evenly with your fingers to form a round patty; there is no need to leave an edge (as with a “normal” pizza baked in the oven).
• Then make small holes in the dough with a pointed object (e.g. fork, knife or spatula tip). These holes ensure that the dough rises evenly during frying and does not puff up like a balloon.

• Heat oil in a pan or pot to about 180 degrees (best measured with an infrared thermometer*).
• Carefully pour in the dough and fry on both sides until it reaches a golden brown color. To achieve this process also on the “top side” (the side that is not in the oil), pour the oil evenly over the dough with a frying ladle.
• Then transfer the Pizza Fritta with the frying ladle to a plate with paper towels and let the excess fat drip off.

Topping the Pizza Fritta

• There are no limits for the toppings. We highly recommend the classic version with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, grated cheese and basil.
• It’s best to enjoy the Pizza Fritta still warm!

This is what the finished Pizza Fritta looks like

The Pizza Fritta as a “smaller version” (pizzelle fritte) looks like this:

Tips to consider

• The Pizza Fritta is topped only after frying. Exception, if it is fried as a calzone, then of course it is already filled before.
• Remember that the dough is fried in a pan or pot and you have limited space in it. Therefore, it is better to make the dough smaller than for a normal pizza, which is baked in the oven.

Thanks for reading! I hope this Pizza Fritta recipe was valuable to you. If you have any unanswered questions, feel free to let me know in the comments. I’d appreciate it if you could share this article with your friends.

Julia